Music staff paper (blank sheet music)
Staff paper—also called manuscript paper or blank sheet music—has sets of five evenly spaced lines for writing notes. Pick how many staves you want on a page and how big they are, then print as many sheets as you need.
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Print at 100% / Actual size so the squares measure exactly. Printing help
What it looks like up close
Ready-made PDF downloads
Default settings, ready to print.
Example: the notes of the treble staff
Most students learn the treble staff with two memory aids: the lines are E-G-B-D-F (“Every Good Boy Does Fine”) and the spaces spell FACE. On the bass staff the lines are G-B-D-F-A (“Good Boys Do Fine Always”) and the spaces A-C-E-G (“All Cows Eat Grass”). Printing a page of blank staves and filling in note names is a quick way to practise both.
Staff size and staves per page
The size of a staff is the distance from its bottom line to its top line, four times the gap between lines. The default here is a 2 mm gap, an 8 mm staff, with twelve staves on a page—close to a standard manuscript pad. Printed parts for a single instrument usually use a staff around 7 mm tall; choral and orchestral scores go smaller; beginners' books use 9–10 mm so noteheads are easy to place.
Fewer staves per page means more space between them for lyrics, fingering, chord symbols and ledger lines. Eight staves with a 3 mm gap is a comfortable size for young students; twelve or fourteen suits composers sketching ideas quickly. The generator spreads the staves evenly down the page and leaves out any that would not fit.
Grand staff for piano
Piano music is written on a grand staff: a treble staff for the right hand above a bass staff for the left, joined by a line at the left edge. Tick “Grand staff” and the staves are drawn in pairs, with the two staves of a pair closer together than the pairs are to each other, so it is always clear which staves belong together. Ten staves per page gives five systems.
Add the treble and bass clefs yourself at the start of each system, along with the key signature. Leaving them off the template means the same sheet works for organ, harp or any instrument that reads two staves.
Guitar tablature
Choose six lines per staff for guitar TAB: each line is a string, with the lowest string at the bottom, and numbers on the lines show which fret to play. The letters T-A-B are printed at the start of each staff when Labels is on. For bass guitar, which has four strings, use the top four lines and ignore the rest, or print standard five-line staves.
How to print music staff paper
- Choose the number of staves per page and the line gap (staff size).
- Tick “Grand staff” for piano, or choose 6 lines for guitar TAB.
- Pick Letter or A4, portrait or landscape, and add a name line if needed.
- Set the number of pages and download the PDF.
- Print at 100% so the staff size matches what you chose.
Writing neatly on staff paper
Noteheads should fill a space or sit centered on a line, slightly oval and tilted. Stems go up on the right side of notes below the middle line and down on the left side of notes above it, and are about an octave (three and a half spaces) long. Draw bar lines with a ruler from the top line to the bottom line, and leave enough room between staves for ledger lines above and below; if you keep running out of room, choose fewer staves per page.
Recommended settings
Starting points for common uses. Pick the closest one, then adjust the size or color in the generator above.
| Use | Settings |
|---|---|
| Composing and sketching | 12 staves, 2 mm gap |
| Beginners and children | 8 staves, 3 mm gap |
| Piano | 10 staves, grand staff |
| Guitar | 6 lines (TAB), 8 staves, 2.5 mm gap |
| Lead sheets with lyrics | 8 staves, landscape |
Questions
How many staves are on a page of standard manuscript paper?
Usually 10 to 12 on Letter or A4. Choose anywhere from 4 to 16 here.
Can I print staff paper with a treble clef?
The staves are printed blank so the same sheet works for any clef and instrument; drawing the clef at the start of each line takes a few seconds.
Is there landscape staff paper?
Yes—switch the orientation to landscape for longer staves, useful for scores and lead sheets.
What is the difference between staff paper and manuscript paper?
Nothing—both names describe paper printed with blank music staves. In the UK it is also called stave paper.
Can I use it on an iPad or reMarkable?
Yes. Pick your tablet under Page size for an e-ink template, or import the Letter or A4 PDF into a note-taking app.
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